Meet Walli!

This is the first in a series about the critters and plants that can be found at Cook’s Country Connection.

Our dogs and cats are our personal pets and not “exhibit animals”. That doesn’t mean you won’t see them bopping around the farm, but interactions with them will be unlikely.

BALL??

Walli Pajari-Williams is an almost 4 year-old corgi that was the mascot and general manager of the Dollar Barn until it burned in 2013. Lois is a dog lover, and wanted a pet that could go to work with her, since she spent more time there than at home. Having always admired the breed, she contacted local breeder Janelle Johnson of Riverwind Kennel, who has also become a dear friend.

And the Williams? Well, for a time we (Lois and Laura) threw around the idea of changing our last name. Nobody can spell or pronounce Pajari (PIE-ree) anyway, and it’s a pain in the butt. Lois decided on Williams because it was easy to spell, pronounce, and had no obvious cultural background. In fact, it is the second-most common last name in America. So we tried it out on the dog. Several months later I (Laura) met my boyfriend and his last name was Williams…so we decided it would be creepy to take his name (even if we saw it first) at that point.

She even made the papers this time!

Walli even has her own Facebook page, which she used to win a fundraising contest for the local shelter, Contented Critters. Fans mailed her $ from ALL OVER THE US! It was pretty awesome.

Good luck, big dogs; she has no idea she is “medium-sized”.

Corgis are working dogs…that means they are highly intelligent and need a “job” to keep them busy. At the store, she played fetch with young and old, and we nurtured her obsession with THE BALL.

And she sings, too!

Her other big “job” at the store was to sing Happy Birthday to anyone that visited on their special day. She can’t wait until we are hosting birthday parties at Cook’s Country Connection!